1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor device testing contactor, a method of producing the semiconductor device testing contactor, and a semiconductor device testing carrier. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device testing contactor which obtains electrical contact with a semiconductor device such as a bare chip, a BGA (Ball Grid Array), an SOP (Small Outline Package), or a QFP (Quad Flat Package), a method of producing such a semiconductor device testing contactor, and a semiconductor device testing,carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for small, high-speed, and high-density semiconductor devices. The electrodes disposed in these semiconductor devices have become smaller accordingly. As a result, a semiconductor device testing contactor is now expected to be capable of obtaining reliable electrical connection with a small semiconductor device with small electrodes.
A semiconductor device testing contactor used for testing a semiconductor device is electrically connected to the electrodes of a semiconductor device to be tested. Such a semiconductor device testing contactor includes a wiring board having electrode pads to be electrically connected to the electrodes of the semiconductor device. As mentioned above, semiconductor devices have been becoming smaller in size, and higher in speed and density. To be compatible with such semiconductor devices, a membrane-type wiring board having a conductive pattern on a polyimide film is often employed as the wiring board of a semiconductor device testing contactor. The membrane-type wiring board has a minutely formed conductive pattern so as to be able to conform to the minute electrode pads of a semiconductor device to be tested.
Since the membrane-type wiring board has flexibility, it requires a reinforcing member when used as a semiconductor device testing contactor. For this reason, a conventional semiconductor device testing contactor has the reinforcing member for reinforcing the membrane-type wiring board.
Techniques of attaching the reinforcing member to the membrane-type wiring board include a technique using double-sided adhesive tape or adhesives (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cadhesion techniquexe2x80x9d), and a technique using screws to fasten the membrane-type wiring board to the reinforcing member (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cmechanical fastening techniquexe2x80x9d).
Besides the main components (the membrane-type wiring board and the reinforcing member), the adhesion technique requires the double-sided tape or adhesives, and the mechanical fastening technique requires screws. This results in problems that the number of components becomes larger, and that the production costs of the semiconductor device testing contactor are increased.
Furthermore, when the adhesion technique or the mechanical fastening technique is employed, it is necessary to perform a double-sided adhesive tape attaching process, an adhesive applying process, or a screw tightening process. This makes the production procedures of the semiconductor device testing device more complicated.
When the adhesion technique is employed, thermal deterioration occurs to the adhesives or the double-sided tape due to the difference in thermal expansion between the membrane-type wiring board and the reinforcing member at the time of a burn-in test, for instance. The thermal deterioration of the adhesives or the double-sided adhesive tape causes wrinkles which results in a positional shift of the membrane-type wiring board with respect to the reinforcing member. With such a positional shift, there is a possibility that the conductive pattern on the membrane-type wiring board cannot be electrically connected to the electrode pads of the semiconductor device.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a device testing contactor in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a device testing contactor, a method of producing the contactor, and a device testing carrier, in which the number of components is smaller, the production procedures are simpler, and the reliability is improved.
The objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a device testing contactor which includes: a wiring board having a flexible substrate and electrode pads formed on the substrate; and a first reinforcing member which reinforces the wiring board. The electrode pads are electrically connected to the electrodes of a device. The first reinforcing member is formed by a mold. The wiring board and the first reinforcing member are collectively bonded and molded.
The objects of the present invention are also achieved by providing a device testing carrier which includes: a device testing contactor; a pressure mechanism which pushes a device toward a wiring board provided in the device testing contactor; and a cushion member which absorbs a pressing force of the pressure mechanism.
The objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of producing a device testing contactor, which method includes the steps of: mounting a wiring board to a metal mold made up of an upper mold and a lower mold provided with a lower cavity having a shape corresponding to the shape of a first reinforcing member; and forming the first reinforcing member by injecting a reinforcing material into the metal mold, so that the wiring board and the first reinforcing member are collectively bonded.
The objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of testing a device, which method includes the step of electrically connecting the electrode pads of a device testing contactor to the electrodes of the device. The electrode pads are formed on the wiring board of the device testing contactor, and are reinforced by a reinforcing member. The device testing contactor has the wiring board and the reinforcing member collectively bonded to each other.
With this structure, no fixing devices, such as double-sided adhesive tape, adhesives, or screws, are necessary in fixing the wiring board and the first reinforcing member. Thus, the number of components and the production costs can be reduced. In this structure, it is not necessary to carry out an adhesion technique using double-sided adhesive tape or adhesives and a fastening technique using screws, thereby simplifying the production procedures of the device testing contactor. Also, wrinkles due to deterioration of adhesives can be prevented, and the connection reliability with the device can be improved.
The device testing carrier described above can provide the same effects as the device testing contactor.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.